Top 5: New York’s Best Celebrity Chefs

The problem with making a city-specific list of best celebrity chefs is that so many of them have expanded around the globe. So, we’ve compiled some of the biggest household names in the industry that retain a bit of New York flair in our latest Top 5.

1
Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin

The charmingly soft-spoken Ripert has become a Top Chef favorite, but hasn't let his celebrity lead him too far astray from the Le Bernardin kitchen. These days, you shouldn't put money on finding star chefs working the stoves at their flagship restaurants unless you're at Le Bernardin, the recently redesigned seafood shrine and perennial critics' favorite.

155 West 51st Street New York, NY 10019

2
Mario Batali of Del Posto

Batali is hard to miss, whether he's darting through the West Village on a Vespa while wearing his signature orange clogs, hanging with his buddy Gwyneth Paltrow, dissing Wall Street titans, or opening up yet another Italian restaurant or jam-packed grocery store. He's a true creature of New York, and the crowds in particular at Del Posto, the almost comically ornate Italian spot that nabbed a coveted four stars from the Times, attest to that.

85 10th Avenue New York, NY 10011

3
Anthony Bourdain of Les Halles

Restaurant critics and fellow chefs might argue that Bourdain's outsize personality and numerous vices have always outweighed his skills in the kitchen (which he largely avoids). But even if Les Halles doesn't get New York Times or Michelin love, Bourdain has established himself as a testy and often profane foodie ambassador for New Yorkers fed up with vegetarians, the Food Network and the smoking ban.

411 Park Avenue South New York, NY

4
David Chang of Momofuku Ko

Has it really been just eight years since Chang opened up Momofuku, a modest ramen shop in the East Village? The instantaneous accolades, marathon waits, New Yorker profiles and equally lauded spin-offs (especially the pint-sized, tasting menu-only Ko) make it hard to believe that Chang wasn't even on the map a decade ago before rewriting the landscape.

163 1st Avenue New York, 10003

5
Jean-Georges Vongericthen of Jean Geroges

This Frenchman came to New York in 1986 after a brief stint in Boston and was instantly embraced by critics, earning four Times stars when he was only 29-years-old. He's conquered the culinary globe since then, with satellite restaurants in nearly every dining capital. Yet despite occasional misfires (V Steakhouse in the Time Warner Center was a painful flop), Vongerichten hasn't spread himself too thin: the Jean Georges flagship still holds a perfect four Times and three Michelin stars.